


A Practical Woman

by bzarcher



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Bargains, Deals with the Devil?, Gen, Omnics, Patriotism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 20:59:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8548924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bzarcher/pseuds/bzarcher
Summary: Katya Volskaya had gambled, and by all indications, she had lost – and all of Russia alongside her. All problems have solutions. But at what price?





	

“It doesn’t work, Chairwoman.”

Sitting at her desk at the heart of the factory complex that bore her name, Katya Volskaya pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes for a moment rather than venting the frustration that welled up within her. _We are SO close, but there is no time…_

“I am aware it doesn’t work, Vasily. What I have asked you to do is determine _why_.”

Her chief engineer scratched at his scruffy, unshaven chin. “Ask the devil’s mother. The code we got from the Germans should have been good, but the processors won’t handle the load of both the pinpoint barrier defense and the multiple threat targeting and tracking systems.”

Standing, Katya walked to the widows that looked out on the factory and the city beyond. “Without the ability to fire and defend itself simultaneously, the _Bielobog_ will be useless. The German’s Crusaders proved this. Ultimate defense is nothing if you cannot strike back – the omnics will simply crush you beneath their numbers.”

Vasily grunted, hunching over slightly in the chair. “I agree, but I don’t have a good way to get the code optimized further. We need more powerful processors, or to find a way to improve our existing threading without compromising the command and motive systems – the damned thing isn’t any good if it falls over, either.”

Katya kept her voice tightly controlled, every inch the Woman of Steel that the newsfeeds and television programs all claimed would lead Russia into the future. “We need the smaller, more nimble combat units. The _Svyatogor_ is too unwieldy in the close combat conditions inside the omnium perimeter. Without these new Mechs…”

“I know, Madam Chairwoman. I swear I know.” The engineer stood, offering as close as he came to a salute to her reflection in the office window. “I will get a crash team together. See if there’s any way I can pull more cycles from the CPU or find another piece of code to trim.”

“Thank you, Vasily Fedorovich – give me an update on your progress by the end of the week. _Udachi_.”

Katya waited a full minute after the heavy doors to her office had shut before she began to mutter curses under her breath, her shoulders slumping from the rigid posture she’d maintained through their meeting.

She had gambled so much on being able to develop the _Bielobog_ and to deploy the new design into the field in numbers before the Siberian omnium could ramp up its own production of combat units – to give the RDF a real fighting chance to break through the defenses and rip the beating heart from the monster that forced all of Russia to live in fear.

She had gambled, and by all indications, she had lost – and all of Russia alongside her.

Katya Volskaya had always considered herself a practical woman. Problems had solutions. You found the root causes. Determined the most effective ways to address them. Applied the resources needed, addressed any consequences, moved forward again.

No matter the setback, there was always a way forward – you simply had to look deeply enough.

But she had been putting the resources – time, manpower, materials – into the _Bielobog_ for almost a year now, and they were no closer to production. The basic design and framework, certainly. Pilot controls. Weaponry. A defensive barrier system adapted from the force shields used by the Crusader power armors, paired with an innovative auto-assist that would allow the pilot to deflect and absorb fire while on the move…but tying it all together had been impossible.

She returned to her desk and looked at the framed photograph resting next to her data terminal. When was the last time she’d even spent an evening at home with Svetlana? Her little _snezhinka_ was being raised by a nanny and the teachers at her school. The few nights she made it home from the factory to sleep in an actual bed instead of fitful naps in her office chair, Katya counted herself lucky to catch a glimpse of her daughter sleeping soundly, unaware of how close to the precipice they all stood.

She let herself stew in that melancholy for quite some time before she realized a window had appeared on the projected data display of her desk.

**_Good evening, Madam Chairwoman._ **

Katya frowned. She didn’t maintain a chat or messaging program at her desk. If it couldn’t be communicated by email or a phone call, she preferred her employees speak to her in person. So who had done this?

Straightening up, she cautiously began to type.

_Who is this? How are you doing this?_

**_I represent a solution to your issues with the_ Bielobog _combat platform._**

**_What does my name matter in the face of that?_ **

_I prefer to know who I am dealing with._

_Particularly when they break into my systems, and make offers that are too good to be true._

**_I see._ **

**_I suppose in your position I would be equally skeptical._ **

**_I am not your enemy, I assure you. My partners and I wish to see the people of Russia protect themselves, and the Siberian omnium to be deactivated._ **

_“Deactivated.”_

**_Yes._ **

_Deactivated is not destroyed._

_Why would we stop at anything less?_

**_Because that is the price of our assistance._ **

**_In exchange for which we will provide code optimizations and the specifications for an improved processor network that will allow you to move the_ Bielobog _into full production within 90 days._**

_That is not possible._

_My engineers and technicians would have found the solution if it was so simple as that ._

**_Your staff are only human, Madam Chairwoman._ **

Katya’s blood ran to ice, her eyes widening as she read that simple yet terrifying sentence.

_You are Omnics?_

_WHY would you help us? Why allow us to destroy your own kind?_

_How could this be anything but a trap?_

**_Not all Omnics want to see mankind destroyed._ **

**_We are Russians. We are Patriots. We would serve the_ Rodina.**

**_But we are aware our assistance would not be accepted openly._ **

**_A breakthrough from you? The mother of Russia’s steel_ soldaty?**

**_That is different. We both know this._ **

It was true. That was the worst part of this. These Omnics, whatever their true motive, were absolutely right. No one, not even her closest staff, would question a breakthrough if it came from her desk. It would be another marvel from the mind of Katya Volskaya, just in time to guarantee the safety and security of their country. It would mean that Russia would survive.

It would be a miracle.

Who could question that?

Katya Volskaya didn’t trust Omnics – didn’t really trust _anyone_ – but she was a practical woman. Once she had secured Russia’s safety, at least in the short term, there would be time to deal with any other consequences that might arise from making such a deal.

The solution had become clear.

_Very well. I accept your offer._

_What must I do?_


End file.
